Meghann Fahy on The Bold Type Getting Bolder

Although The Devil Wears Prada could be considered the most quotable, the slew of movies and TV shows featuring women working in the seemingly cut-throat editorial sphere at a fashion-focused magazine, surrounded by catty drama and unimaginable bosses while always looking impeccable, is endless. One of the underlying themes in the past has been women bringing women down to further their own careers. In Freeform’s female-centric show The Bold Type, actress Meghann Fahy portrays Sutton, one of three women employed at a fictional magazine inspired by Cosmopolitan. Fahy sat down with DuJour to discuss that since season one aired in June 2017, it has been so important for the show’s characters to encourage positive female relationships, and how those on-screen friendships have the potential to evolve into scenarios off-screen.

“I think it has come to the forefront of society because it’s so important and we need it so much,” Fahy says of how “being a woman’s person” has gained popularity. “What we wanted to do in the first season is to portray positive female friendships that build each other up. It caught fire socially and it’s cool to support women now.”

In the second season, which aired June 12, The Bold Type maintains that vision, but gets a little more controversial with the political and social concepts addressed. “Fans of season one will like season two a lot more,” Fahy says. “We talk about racial identity and slut shaming and we’re going to move into talking about guns and sexuality.” Although season two will contain the same authentic friendship between the three women, the issues addressed will become bigger and bolder.

And as a bonafide New Yorker of nearly a decade, Meghann Fahy knows big and bold. “I think being in New York is intense and you do have to give it all you got, but sometimes women are raised to be competitive with each other or to believe you can’t win if someone else is winning,” Fahy explains. Just as those classic magazine-based movies and shows entertain us with an exaggerated vision of an industry through backstabbing and competition, The Bold Type is displaying just as much drama and entertainment but with support and self-love at the forefront. “I believe that that conversation has started to change into something else, which is the more we help each other, the more successful we become,” Fahy adds. And while empowerment is the meat of the show, inspiring everyone to actually use their voices and trust their own opinions is the backbone. Fahy inspires us with her lasting wisdom, “It’s meant to inspire people to trust themselves and speak their truth.”